


Tongue Tied July

by PoetOnAPuzzle



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Islands, Romance, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-08-28 03:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8430286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoetOnAPuzzle/pseuds/PoetOnAPuzzle
Summary: How Barry comes to stay with Caitlin and her family for a week on an Island.





	1. Tongue Tied July

Barry thought a lot of things in his life were odd. He could run at the speed of sound. Odd came naturally to his life. But that all seemed so small in comparison to the oddity of one thing.

Change.

Of all the things in the world, Change was the strangest of them all to him. The way things shift with time. Be it within moments, or maybe over years. They way opinions change. Seasons, trends, cloths, politics. They all seemed to change slowly. Maybe it had something to do with the way he moved. When you’re gifted with super speed, time seemed to just crawl by at times. Before all of his heroics and world altering and time traveling antics, he’d been plain old Barry Allen. And life was easy. Easy and perfectly slow. He had time to be himself. To be ‘young and dumb’ as his father used to say. And recently, something had shifted for him.

Standing in the cortex, as the clock ticked just past eight o’clock, and the smell of coffee and medical supplies filled the room, it dawned on Barry exactly what that was. 

It was that Caitlin Snow was different. Kind of a weird thought, especially since nothing had changed about her physically. At least as far as he could tell. More like a peculiar feeling in his gut that made his perspective shift around like leaves in the wind. He’d come to pick up the phone he’d forgotten on the computer table. He’d expected to just be alone, to zip in and out. He hadn’t thought he would find Caitlin still sitting at her desk. It made these thoughts that he had been quite focused on burying rush back to the forefront of his brain. But Barry tamped that thought down when he realized that she was speaking.

“Yes, mom, I know. I will be there.” 

Barry froze in the doorway. Mom? Barry suddenly felt like he had stumbled upon something intimate. Something private. Barry didn’t think he had ever heard Caitlin talk about her family, let alone even make a phone call. Now she was huffing, and giving her mother what Joe affectionately called the ‘Yes Factor.’

“Yes mom, I know it’s going to be cold. Don’t worry.” She paused, and ran a hand through her chocolate hair, sighing. “Mom, we have the reunion every year.” Barry cringed inwardly, suddenly feeling every bit the intruder.

He could just zoom through the room and snag his phone and be gone, and Caitlin would never even have time to pause her conversation. Or he could announce himself, but the sudden fear brought on by the thought that she might take that as he had been eavesdropping made him feel guilty. Especially since he kind of had been eavesdropping. 

“I know, Mom, no need to remind me.”

The exasperated huffing and stressed out tone her voice took on made him smile. Caitlin was always at her most adorable when she was stressed. In fact, the two seemed to be directly proportional to each other. Not to say she didn’t always have her charm. Barry cocked his head, taken back a little bit. Now that was a weird thought. He wondered when he had become so acutely aware of Caitlin’s attractiveness. When had that changed?

“Yes mom, I’ve got plenty of summer clothes. We do have warm weather here sometimes.” She paused, listening to the voice on the other end, “Yes I’ll get some new bathing suits. Don’t stress mom.”

Barry leaned against the wall, smiling. He knew he should have flashed out of the room. Should have been giving Caitlin her privacy. Should be actively trying to be less of a creeper. But this was so new. The chance to see this side of Caitlin and the novelty of the experience kept him glued to the spot. Smiling like he was watching a puppy roll about in the snow. He took a sip of his coffee and watched as Caitlin’s head sink low, one hand coming up to rub her temple.

“Mom…” Caitlin said, the warning evident in her voice, “I know what you’re doing.”

Silence followed, and Barry could hear the faint murmurings of Caitlin’s mother on the other end of the line. Caitlin rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “Yes mom, I know...I know I need to get out more.”

Caitlin made a small noise in the back of her throat. Something between a huff of annoyance and a sign of frustration. “Mom it’s not that simple. I’m not exactly the outgoing type.”

Barry cocked an eyebrow. He disagreed, but remained quiet, sipping his coffee.

“Mom, maybe I’m just not good at dating.” She said, “I know it’s been two years since Ronnie. Trust me. Maybe I’m just taking my time.”

Her shoulders sagged. “Maybe next time I’ll bring someone. Who knows?” She stood up abruptly, and spun on her heel, and yelped. Her hands came up in a twitchy little gesture, and her phone went flying. Barry watched as her eyes fell on his shoes, and traveled their way up to his face. Her face was bright pink, highlighting the little white ear buds. She snatched up the cord and waved it at him. “Oh my god, Barry. Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to sneak up on people?”

“Sneaking?” Barry grinned, “Who’s been sneaking? I’ve been just standing here.”

“You scared the pants off me.”

Barry couldn’t help but laugh, “Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“Interrupt?” She blinked, “Oh crap!”

And just as she spun around, scrambling to find her flung phone, a little voice chimed through the din of the Cortex. “Hello? Caitlin?”

“One second, mom!” Caitlin called out, hair darting this way and that as she fumbled around the room.

"Hold these," she commanded, stuffing her headphones into his free hand. After a few more seconds of searching, Caitlin let out a triumphant "ah-ha." She snatched the phone up off the floor and fixed her hair. "Hi mom, sorry." 

Barry caught the briefest of glimpses at the face on the screen. Brown hair, like Cait's. Strong features, sharp and angular. Glasses, horn rimmed and proper.

"Caitlin? What happened?" Her mother asked. Barry felt a little guilty for a moment. The sound of her mother's voice had a hawk-like quality to it. Almost scholarly. On all things Caitlin. As if she could spot a lie from miles away.

"Nothing. Nothing. A co-worker showed up." 

"This late?" 

Caitlin cleared her throat, "There's a revolving door policy here." 

Barry opened his mouth to speak, maybe to help with the lie, when he caught Caitlin's eye. He knew that icy glare. She had used it whenever he'd run off to have his nightly "interviews" with Iris. His mouth shut with a click. 

"Anyway, listen mom, you can just RSVP for me. Whitney won't mind. She's easy going like that." 

"Yes but you still haven't told me if you're going to be having a plus one or not." 

"Mom, I--" 

"You have to move on sometime Caitlin." The way she said it felt distant, cold. Colder than the way Barry imagined a mother would say it. 

If it was possible to shrink down in size. To recoil away from a video call, Caitlin did. Her face fell. Barry took a few steps towards her, cautious, probing just how close he had to be to lend his  
support, but far enough to respect her space.

"I know," Caitlin said, her voice small and lacking its usual confidence. 

"I know you've been trying to date," her mother said, her tone losing some of the icy edge, "Why not bring one of your dates? It's just a week." 

"Mom I haven't been on a date in 6 months." 

"And why is that?" Her mom asked.

Barry felt that intrusive vibe his presence had taken on double. He was definitely not supposed to be privy to this turn of the conversation. Surprisingly he wasn't sure he wanted to be. The thought of Caitlin dating made him feel strangely protective. Barry hadn't told her that of course. She was perfectly capable of protecting herself, and she was smart enough to know when a bad situation had presented itself. But the extra eyes couldn't hurt. At least that's what he told himself.

Caitlin stammered, floundering. Even from this distance Barry could see her mother wasn't buying it. Her mother's eyebrow shot up.

Part of him wanted to jump and shout 'because she's been helping me' but he clamped that thought down in a vice. That would only lead to more questions. Questions he was sure neither of them could answer properly. 

Caitlin cast him a sidelong glance. He met her eye and smiled as confidently as Barry felt he could. He hoped that confidence would transfer over.

"I've been busy...” she said slowly, feeling out the pseudo-lie. 

Barry felt a small pang of guilt sound out in his gut. 

"I know I might not be the number one advocate of this advice but, Caitlin, work can't be everything." 

Caitlin rubbed her temple and whirled around to face Barry, maybe to shoo him away, but then she froze. 

Barry looked around. There was no one behind him. So why was she leveling him with that look? He knew it. It meant she was formulating an idea. A plan.

"Mom, I'll call you right back." 

"What? Caitlin--" 

"Two minutes, Mom. I promise I'll call right back." 

And without waiting for a response she hung up. She counted to three and took a deep breath. Then her eyes came up to rest on his. 

"Barry..." 

"Caitlin..." Barry said, noting how cautiously she had said his name and responding in kind.

"I have a favor to ask." She said slowly. 

"Sure. Shoot." 

Caitlin folded her fingers together. She braced herself with another deep breath. She made a few nervous movements and then said, "this favor I'm about to ask you can totally say no to. I won't  
mind. Like at all. Totally okay. I would absolutely understand-"

"Cait," Barry said, chuckling, "what is it? Just tell me." 

"My cousin is getting married." 

Barry blinked. "Oh well...uh, congratulations." 

Caitlin smiled weakly, "And uh, well, the wedding is next week. The seventh to the fourteenth." 

Barry laughed, "Caitlin if you're asking for time off you know you don't need to, right? Like I'm definitely not your boss. If anything you're the boss of me." 

"No I know that. I know you can handle yourself if I'm gone for the week." 

"A week? On second thought I might die without you hear to patch me up." 

Caitlin laughed, " Hush," she cleared her throat, "The thing is, my family is going to be there. And they've all been pressuring me to get out and date." 

"Have you?" Barry felt himself inwardly cringe. For whatever reason he didn't really think he wanted to know the answer. 

Caitlin laughed, "There's not much time for dating when you're either being the Flash's personal doctor or helping save the city." 

"If it makes you feel any better my social life is pretty much-" 

"Being the Flash and Netflix. I remember. Not much else from that night but I do remember that," She said. They shared a secret smile. That night had become their own little inside joke.

"So no date? Why not just go alone?" 

"Because my family will just ride me for it the entire time. Being a technical widow and all doesn't buy you the free pass you'd think it would." 

Barry felt his heart sink sadly for her. He wanted to wipe away the look that had covered her face and replace it with the smile she'd worn just a minute ago. 

"Listen, I know it's a lot to ask but I have a plus one on my invitation and I was thinking that maybe you could be my plus one?" 

"Me? Wouldn't you be better off with Cisco? If you go won't people think I'm your--" 

"Boyfriend?" 

Barry blinked, then nodded. 

"Well..." she said, drawing out the word, "Yes. That's the idea. Or well, the idea that I've got some kind of male friend in my life and I'm not just sitting in this lab twenty four/seven. We wouldn't have to even tell them anything like that. I just need the...." she paused, searching for the right word, “Support. But forget it. Really. Look, I know it's stupid. Forget I asked."

"Caitlin-" 

"No Barry, really it's okay. It was selfish of me to ask. I'm sorry." She shook her head and laughed at herself. "I just wanted my family off my back about this for the weekend. The Snow family is a pretty raucous bunch. You'd be surprised. If I were you I wouldn't want to spend a weekend with my family either." 

She strode back to the computer table and leaned against it. Caitlin made for her phone. She eyed it for a moment, ran a hand through her hair, and then tapped the screen. Barry watched her. 

The quiet resignation to a less than pleasant weekend, probed by queries from her family about how she hadn't moved on. Barry didn't actually mind the idea. The thought of spending time with Caitlin was never something he thought of as unpleasant. In fact quiet the opposite. The sound of a vacation also had a pleasant ring to it. Despite how Barry was almost positive he had seen this kind of scenario in one of Iris's romantic comedy movies from yesteryear. Ignoring how he knew full well there was a decent amount of holes in the plan and he knew all the ways this could go south, he couldn't say it sounded unappealing. So he crossed the room in a burst of speed, and came to snatch the phone from her hands. 

"Caitlin," Barry took a step forward, placing his hands on her shoulders, "I'll do it." 

"What?" She said, eyebrows raised, bewilderment spreading across her face like wildfire. 

"I'll go. Sounds like fun if you ask me." 

"Really?" She asked, "You're not just teasing me?" She eyed him with suspicion. 

"It'll be like an undercover mission." 

She laughed, "You've been spending too much time with Oliver." 

Barry shot her a sly smile and shrugged, "I mean if you'd rather your family know your life does actually consist of being my personal physician and working, then I can take that back." 

"Please, god no." She said, and then paused, "Are you positive?" 

"Of course. Where's the wedding?" 

"Palm city. About an hour or so away from Coast City." 

"Palm city? Seriously?" Barry said, "You're cousin is really going all out." 

Caitlin bit her lip, "Well it's actually on one of the island resorts off the coast of Palm City." 

Barry gawked. He'd seen one of the island resorts on the Internet before. One of the top vacation spots in the world. Also, forever out of Barry's budget. 

"Big budget wedding," he whistled. 

Caitlin nodded and shrugged her shoulders, looking displeased. "Her fiancé is an investment banker. He likes to show his affection with dollar signs and expensive purses." 

"No kidding. The Islands are intense." 

Caitlin blew a strand of hair from her face, "It's a gross display of wealth. Weddings are supposed to be personal and intimate. Not glorified showing-off sessions." She waved her hand, her displeasure growing more acute. "Ronnie and I knew better. Our wedding was so..." and she stopped, catching herself growing wistful and nostalgic. 

Barry reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. He gave the faintest of squeezes. 

Caitlin cleared her throat and put on a smile. Barry knew it was a brave face but he said nothing. "Right, well, we didn't share the same views as my cousin when it came to weddings." 

"I'm sure yours was all the better for it." 

Caitlin gave him slow, shy smile. "Thanks Barry." 

Barry nodded to her phone, "Better call your mom back. Let her know you're bringing a friend. Of the male persuasion." 

Caitlin let out the smallest of giggles and nodded. "I'll text you all the details."

"I'll start making a packing list tonight." 

Caitlin beamed with relief and dialed her mother's number. Barry snagged his forgotten phone from the medical table. On his way out he heard Caitlin say, "Hi mom, sorry. About that plus one..."


	2. Teenage Satellites

Watching Barry pack was undoubtedly humorous but all together stressful. Caitlin stood and watched him read over his list, then zoom about in a blur of lightning. If she was being honest, it had a certain charm to it. But as she watched him, Caitlin felt the doubt sinking into her gut. A foreboding sense had rooted her to her spot sitting at the edge of his bed and Caitlin knew, she just KNEW, that this was a bad idea. 

She was throwing Barry to the wolves. He was walking into a lions den completely blindfolded. And if she knew one thing for certain it was this; her mother was going to eat him alive. She would question, and prod, and quiz until she was certain he was up to her standards. Ronnie has barely passed her test, and he had been her fiancé. Barry wasn't even attached to her in any kind of romantic fashion, they still hadn't even discussed whether or not they should pretend to be a couple or not. They'd tackled a few pros and cons to the idea sitting together late at the Lab, but hadn't come to a definitive answer. And while she had faith in Barry, she was fully aware that her selfishness was going to put him in an entirely avoidable and awkward predicament. 

God, this was such a mistake. She barely wanted to spend time with her hectic family, why would she drag Barry into it?

But she knew exactly why. 

To make matters worse, she actively wanted him there. They'd been a team for so long, facing things solo seemed to ultimately be making things unnecessarily difficult. This whole wedding felt like a brightly clad Villain in disguise. She wanted Barry by her side on this. Even if she hadn't been entirely honest with him. 

There was a knock on the door, and Joe stuck his head in. "How's the packing going?" 

Barry stuffed a collared shirt into his suitcase and scratched the back of his head. "Rough. I don't own a ton of summer clothes." 

Joe stepped in, and as if to further Barry's point, he was dressed in a warm sweater and slacks. He took a sip of his beer, and tossed Caitlin a look that said, "Sorry you've gotta witness this." 

Caitlin laughed.

Barry looked up. "What's so funny?" 

"Nothing," Joe said, "we're just finding it ironic that for someone with super speed it sure does take you a long time to pack." 

Barry grumbled and Caitlin smiled, reaching over and taking a pair of khaki shorts from him and folding them into the suitcase. "Don't rush, we've got plenty of time for you to zoom about." 

Barry said, "ha ha," and pulled another pair of shorts from a drawer and stuffed them in the suitcase. 

Joe cleared his threat and said, "So give me the low down on everything again. You're going to Palm City for a week?" 

"Yes, from Friday to Friday," Caitlin said.

"We won't be far," Barry chimed in, "Palm City is only two hours away. I could run back to Central City in less than 15 minutes if anything were to come up." 

"You're cousin is getting married right?"

Caitlin nodded. "Vivian. She's a bit...extravagant." 

"You guys have got a hotel?" 

Barry nodded, "Whole thing is one of those island resorts. How cool is that?" 

"Wait, Palm City Resorts. Like the company that leases out private islands?" 

Caitlin shifted on the bed, "That's the one." 

Joe whistled, "Damn. Extravagant is right." 

"Should I bring sunscreen?" Barry asked, eyebrows knotting together, "I mean I have super speed and accelerated healing so does that mean I won't get burnt? Or will I get burnt even quicker?" 

Caitlin laughed before she could stop herself. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. One little question and Barry had her already feeling better he was there. She reached over and put a hand on his. "I think we'll be fine. Worse comes to worst we can speed ourselves back to the lab and I can whip something up." 

Barry smiled and put the last of his underwear in the suitcase. 

Joe nodded to Caitlin, "keep your phone on you just in case. I doubt anything will go wrong but you never know with all of what's been going on." 

"Don't worry, Joe. I've packed Barry an extra suit and Cisco rigged us up a long distance communicator. It won't short out in heat or water. And it isn't reliant on cell towers or data." 

"Caitlin what would do without you?" Joe smirked. 

Caitlin smiled and shrugged, "I do my best." 

Barry zipped past her and put the last of his cloths in the suitcase and closed it shut. Then he snapped his fingers, "did we forget my Diet Bars?" 

Barry was gone from the room in a gust of wind and lightning. Joe just blinked and took a sip of his beer. "Don't think I'll ever get used to that." 

"Some days I wonder why I even bother to do my hair in the morning," Caitlin laughed.

"Thankfully I don't really have that problem." Joe replied with a cheeky smile, pointing to his head. 

Caitlin joined him in a quick bark of laughter before standing and fixing up some of Barry's cloths in the suitcase.

"You gonna be okay?" 

Caitlin looked up and found Joe eyeing her with a gaze that was both warm and parental. Caitlin felt herself speaking before she realized what she was saying.

"I don't...know," she said, a rueful laugh slipping from her lips, "It'll be the second wedding I've gone to since..." she couldn't finish. Joe waved his handing. Nodding. Filling in the blanks for her. Lending a shoulder to share the weight if only for a moment. 

"Mmhmmm. I know the feeling. After Iris's mother... well, left...weddings were hard."

"Tell me about it." Caitlin breathed, "I suppose it doesn't help that my mother is going to be there and she's been leading the charge on the "why I'm not re-married yet' front." 

Joe laughed, full and hearty, "Yeah parents are like that. Trust me I would know." 

"Any advice?" 

Joe took a long pull from his drink, and sat quiet for a second. Then he said, "Just try to remember that even though we're parents, we're people too. We care and we want to see you happy. We don't always go about it in the right way, we'll screw it up for sure, but we let our emotions blind us because we care." Joe reached out and patted her shoulder, "You're mother just wants to see you happy. If it were me with Barry, trust me, I probably would be doing the same." 

Caitlin felt her face break out into a silly little smile. Some times she wondered how Barry turned out to be so wonderful when he'd been surrounded by so much darkness over the course of his life. And now it all made sense. 

She stood and opened her arms, "Can I hug you Joe? I'm feeling the need to hug you." 

Joe laughed deeply and stood, "Of course," he said and wrapped his arms around her. The hug was two-fold. She wanted to thank Joe for his advice, and thank him for allowing and helping Barry grow into the marvelous man he was. Caitlin had a feeling Joe understood. 

When Joe withdrew, he glanced at Barry's suitcase. "I actually think I can see why you'd ask Barry." 

Caitlin made to ask why, when Barry zipped back into the room, holding a bag of protein bars, and cradling a massive bouquet of flowers in the other. They were a crystalline white, and smelled faintly like some kind of sweet fruit. They were beautiful but seemed entirely out of place in Barry's arms. 

"Where did you go Barry?" Joe asked, eyebrow hiking its way up his forehead. 

Caitlin chimed in, "And why do you have flowers?" 

Barry blinked and shuffled about, "Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" 

Joe shook his head, "No, Barry, you're going to a wedding not a prom." 

"Oh…well…How am I supposed to know that?" 

"Oh!" Caitlin said, jumping to her feet, "I almost forgot. Speaking of prom..." 

She found her bag, and rummaged around inside of it until she found what she was looking for. Grabbing it up, she pulled a long, thin cardboard box from the bag. Snatching up one of the pressed dress shirts from his suitcase, and presented the box to Barry. "Put this shirt on, okay?" 

Barry nodded, reaching for the little cardboard rectangle, awkwardly cradling the flowers, nearly losing them reaching for her. 

Joe clicked his tongue and laughed softly. "Let me take these downstairs," he said and took the floors from Barry. Barry took the box, undid the little bow wrapping, and slid it open. 

"A tie?" 

And a tie it was. Fabric made of a deep, luxurious red, and little lines of gold crisscrossing the slim fabric. It was thin, one of those skinny ties Caitlin had been quiet fond of, and she'd seen it while getting some last minute alterations done to her dress (she'd lost some weight in light of everything that'd been going on) when she saw it she couldn't help but think of him. It matched her dress, and the thought of Barry in that tie had been a strangely...pleasing one. 

She took it from the box and said, "We have to match, right? I thought this would look good on you and it goes with my dress. Sooooo...two birds with one stone. Here try it on." 

Barry slid his shirt off, and Caitlin immediately felt her jaw go a little slack. She'd seen him without a shirt on many times. More often than not she was patching him up and wasn't afford the luxury of admiring him or staring like a star struck schoolgirl (which she hated) and finding she was unable to think with clarity for the briefest of moments (also hated). She ducked her head and pretended to not notice. Caitlin hoped Barry wouldn't either. 

When Barry had finished buttoning up the shirt (and Caitlin felt like she'd been able to get her head back on straight) she took the tie from the box and gently propped the collar of his dress shirt. 

They stumbled about awkwardly, Barry reached up to tie it himself at the same time Caitlin had. Their hands brushed and Caitlin felt her stomach do a weird little bungee jump. 

"Do you want to tie it?" He asked.

"No, no, I'm sorry. You, uh, can. Sorry," she said.

"I'm actually not particularly good at tying ties."

"Really?" 

Barry winced playfully, "Yeah?" 

Caitlin felt her mouth tick up just a little. It seemed like a typical Barry kind of trait. Despite how he managed to dress quite nice. She was fond of his sense of style. 

"Come here," she said, and looped the red cloth around his neck. He stepped close, and that weird weightless feeling filled her stomach again as his breath ghosted across her cheek. He smelled nice. Like...fresh air. Like the way she imagined a bonfire in a spring field. She smiled to herself. When had she become so poetic?

Then she noticed Barry was smiling too. In fact he was laughing. Low and rumbling, like the pleasant vibrations of distant thunder. His chest and throat hummed with it.

"What?" She asked, suddenly curious. And if she was honest, she felt a little self-conscious.

"Nothing, nothing." He said, still trailing off the last little bits of mirth. 

"It's never nothing with you Barry Allen." She said, feeling that mirth blossom within her as well. 

"It's just... this is like the prom that I never went to." His grin was wide, honest, and so white. Her own smile was ticking its way up to her ears. Almost like an involuntary reflex. 

"You never went to prom?" 

"I wasn't exactly the most popular guy in high school. I was pretty sure me dancing in a tuxedo would have just made that worse." 

Caitlin snickered, "Oh PLEASE, you can dance, you can sing, you can run. What can't you do, Mr. Hero?" 

"Keep a date that's for sure." Barry laughed. 

"Keep a date? You're date bailed?" She asked.

Barry replied, "Yep. Last minute decided to go with someone else. Like two days before." 

"How rude." 

"Eh, stuff happens." 

Caitlin tugged the knot up to his throat, making sure it was snug but not suffocating. "Well if it makes you feel any better, I didn't go to prom either." She patted his chest and motioned for him to inspect the knot in the mirror. 

"I think you would have made a great prom date." 

Caitlin flushed. She had thought of going to prom. In fact she'd even gotten a dress. It was blue, and classy, and beautiful. She'd felt excited at the chance to dress up and get out of her normal comfort zone. But the boy she'd hoped would ask her hadn't done so. So against the advice of her friends she had asked him. It had taken her from first period all the way to sixth to work up the nerve. When she had asked, she'd found that he'd asked her best friend instead. They had kept it from her. It stung. Not because the boy hadn't reciprocated her feelings. That was insignificant. She was stronger than that. Stronger than wallowing in her own self-pity. No, it had stung because she had been kept in the dark by the people she hoped would always keep her in the light of honesty. 

But looking at Barry, grinning excitedly, fumbling around with the knot in his tie, Caitlin wondered - not for the first time - what her life might have been like if she had met Barry sooner. Before the coma. Before all the super-powered insanity their lives had taken on. If she had known him in high school would they have been friends? Would they have gone to prom together? She shook the thought. No sense dwelling in the past. She had to focus on the future. 

"Flattery will get you nowhere Barry Allen," she said, but hid her smile. 

"What, I'm serious!" 

"You've never seen me try and dance." 

"I can't either. If it's any consolation." 

"The Flash can't dance? Say it isn't so!" She laughed. 

Barry just shrugged, "The only time I'm not light on my feet." 

They laughed together. Full and honest and devoid of reservations. This was why she and Barry had become so close in such a short amount of time. She could be herself around him. When she laughed with him it was from the heart. The baggage dropped. The weight lifted. The darkness that had shadowed her heart and thoughts for so long cowered beneath the light Barry brought. 

She reached up and undid the tie, "Again, we are quite the pair Mr. Allen." 

"That we are Doctor Snow." 

The room seemed brighter then. The weekend seemed less like an on coming hurricane and more like a slightly cloudy day. If Barry was there then maybe they could make it a fond memory, instead of a looming disaster. 

Barry reached down and bundled up her suitcases and his bags near him. "Guess we better get loaded up," he said and before she could respond he was in and out of the room and the suitcases were gone in the blink of an eye. 

"Ready for our little mini road trip?" 

"I'm just wondering if you'll be able to sit still for the whole thing and not go crazy," she said, watching Barry shrug on his sunglasses, "Not every day you go from running everywhere to having to take the normal method of traveling." 

"Please," he said, "Patience is my middle name." 

And with that, they made their way to the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone, Poet here. It's been a hot minute. It took me a little while to get this next chapter up because I have a policy of not posting a new chapter unless I have the chapter after done. Took me a little while to finish chapter three and all, so I didn't feel right about posting chapter two until it was done. I did Writer's month, and while I only managed to get a few done, it was really rewarding to finish some of my own original material.But now that's it done I'll have that one up sometime soon for you all. In the mean time, keep the reviews coming, they've been so incredibly wonderful and help keep me on track. 
> 
> On a slightly side note, I love getting to see inside writer's heads and their trains of thought as they were writing....well...whatever they're writing. So I thought I might give you guys a quick glimpse into my own writing process. I listen to music constantly while I write and I figured I'd start giving you guys some of the songs that I pull from my Snowbarry playlist for inspiration for each individual chapter. It's my way of saying thank you for all the reviews and support I've gotten.
> 
> The songs for this chapter I had looping are: 
> 
> 1\. Teenage Satellites - Blink 182  
> 2\. Freak - Olivver the Kid  
> 3\. 80's Films - Jon Bellion


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